Science now supports a fun and easy way to boost cognitive function, connect mind and heart, and break up old traumas held in the body, while supporting your blood, digestion, and immunity.
It’s an ancient practice called brahmari pranayama that releases nitric oxide lying dormant in our nasal passages. I’ll unpack each of these fascinating elements below!
Nitric Oxide: The Panacea Molecule
In 1998, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given to researchers who discovered the “panacea molecule” effect of nitric oxide (NO).1
The greatest amount of NO in the body was found to be produced during nose breathing (and not produced during mouth breathing).2
In Ayurveda, there are many breathing exercises, called pranayama, that employ nose breathing for therapeutic effect. Based on the production of nitric oxide during nose breathing, it is reasonable to assume that much of the pranayama benefit could be ascribed to increased production of nitric oxide.
Humming, as practiced during brahmari or “humming bee” pranayama, increases production of nitric oxide 15x compared to gentle nose breathing.6
Nitric oxide is produced in the paranasal sinuses, so when you breathe through the nose, an abundance of NO is driven to the lungs’ lower lobes, where there is a majority of alveoli and blood for the exchange of oxygen in and waste out. Nasal breathing is engineered to drive NO into the blood-rich lower lobes of the lungs and then to the bloodstream for every cell of the body.
Nitric oxide has been found to act as an anti-inflammatory, hormonal, antiseptic, and repair agent for the entire respiratory tract, bloodstream, digestion, and delicate lung tissues.3, 4 NO plays a plethora of roles essential for optimal health.1, 5
Nitric Oxide Benefits
- Regulates vascular tone and blood flow
- Delivers oxygen to the mitochondria for energy production
- Supports healthy blood viscosity
- Supports healthy arterial lining, preventing cardiovascular disease
- Generates antioxidants for repair, like SOD (superoxide dismutase)
- Supports healthy blood sugar and better insulin sensitivity
- Lowers BMI (Body Mass Index)
- Regulates brain blood flow and neural plasticity
- Supports cellular immunity
- Regulates and lowers blood pressure
- Regulates gastric motility
- Supports healthy endothelium (blood vessel lining)
Additional Benefits of Brahmari Humming Bee Pranayama
Increases Gamma Wave (Spiritual) Activity in the Brain
Gamma brainwaves are seen in states of universal love, altruism, and higher virtues. Gamma is above the frequency of neuronal firing, so how it is generated remains a mystery. It is speculated that gamma rhythms modulate perception and consciousness, and that a greater presence of gamma relates to expanded consciousness and spirituality.
It was further concluded that regular practice of brahmari would cause waves to remain for several minutes after the practice is finished. Studies suggest that 10 minutes of brahmari practice boosts cognitive function.7
According to Ayurveda, brahmari is designed to create a vibration in the skull/brain and chest/heart and connect the two. It is understood that to experience mental, emotional, and spiritual benefit, we must learn to stop thinking (from the mind) and start feeling (from the heart). This technique creates a resonance of thought and feeling. By adjusting the humming pitch, you can create powerful connections between heart and mind.
Vibration during humming is not only known to increase NO production but, according to Ayurveda, moves congested brain lymph from the transverse and sagittal sinuses (called tarpaka kapha). Congestion here is linked to suppression of mental and emotional trauma. Brahmari is a tool to help break up mental ama in tarpaka kapha, or the brain lymphatics.
Learn more about brain lymphatics and mental health here.
Tinnitis
A study found brahmari pranayama notably reduces depression, irritability, and anxiety associated with tinnitus.7
Learn more about treating tinnitus with Ayurveda here.
Cardiovascular Support
One study evaluated the immediate effect of brahmari pranayama on heart rate and blood pressure among 50 healthy adults. After practicing for 5 minutes, they noted a slight decrease (2–3 beats) in heart rate and significant decrease of blood pressure (5–6 mm Hg).7
How to Practice Brahmari Pranayama
- Sit comfortably with an empty stomach in a relaxed position with back straight. With your thumbs, close both ears. With your index and middle fingers, cover your closed eyes with light pressure.
- Inhale slowly and deeply with ujjayi pranayama (constricting the back of the throat, aka Darth Vader Breath).
- Exhale fully while humming (still with eyes closed and ears plugged).
- Adjust humming pitch to create a resonance vibration between head and heart/chest.
- Continue for 10 minutes. This can be done before or after meditation or as a standalone practice.
Deepa Seralathan says
Thanks for this article. I learned something new. I have shared it with a few others and intend to keep practising it,
Neowyn Bartek says
Thank you for all that you do, and the health you convey!! Please send, from now on, all emails correspondences, to: [email protected]
Thanks!
Neowy
David Schauweker says
John,
I notice that all the sounds of the 7 chakras:
Bija Mantras- The Sounds of the Chakras LAM VAM RAM YAM HAM OM-OM
and many other mantras end in the humming M sound.
I am currently reading Russill Paul’s “Yoga of Sound,” In his book, his description of how to chant the Om mantra correctly sounds very close to your description of how to do the humming breathing technique.
I believe most people would fine mantra chanting more fun, powerful, and meaningful than humming as a breathing technique.
Another interesting question arises from your article: is the lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in India a result of their high intake of turmeric or is it a result of mantra chanting cleaning out lymph nodes in the brain?
Thanks for the great articles,
Dave
Dabney C Rose says
Apparently nitric oxide is another ally in the challenge against lyme! Huzzah!
Sheila says
Hi Dr. John, Is the humming bee breath different from the buzzing bee breath? I just found out there was two of these types.
Thanks you
Sheila
Catherine says
I believe that “humming” and “buzzing” bee breath are the same. An Internet search for humming bee breath came up with several entries and a search for buzzing bee breath came up with . . . mostly the SAME entries. Probably because humans refer to bee sounds, generally, as humming or buzzing.
From beeculture.com: “Bees generate sound not only through movement of their wings but also with their thoracic muscles. Although they use these muscles to move their wings, they can uncouple their wings to produce heat and generate acoustic signals.”
Geena says
Very interesting article and quite timely for me. This practice is ~very~ similar in feel to a breathing exercise I recently started to stimulate my vagus nerve. I have been dealing with a plethora of health issues that keep getting longer and longer over the last couple of years. It started with a very sluggish migrating motor complex years ago but now includes such seemingly unrelated symptoms as irregular heartbeat, constipation, shallow breathing, brain fog, complex PTSD, bad chronic insomnia, and even having difficulty pulling a voice out of background noise. The journey has been maddening and more than a little scary.
It is too early to tell if the breathing exercises I am doing will help, but I know I feel energized and relaxed after performing them. I have even had normal bowel movements after a session! I will continue to do this because, even after just a few days, some of my symptoms are better.
(I am also close to the end of the first month of LifeSpa’s 4 step to a healthy microbiome plan.)
Thanks for your informative and helpful articles Dr Douillard!
Deepa Seralathan says
You don’t have any electrical device plugged in by your bed or sleeping with head towards north? I had brain fog for a year until I unplugged something by my pillow.
Pam says
Do still get similar benefits if you don’t plug the ears and cover the eyes? Or can you do the ears and not the eyes?
Catherine says
Yes, you can! In fact, singing produces nitric oxide. https://www.thefitsinger.com/blog/category/breathing
So if you are one of those people who like to sing in the shower or about the house, you are producing nitric oxide! And if you have ever had a secret yearning to learn how to sing, find a great instructor and just do it!
Ahmad Sufi says
Thank you for the demonstration of Brahmari Pranayama—it’s really helpful.
I’d love to know more about the stunning photo serving as background to Dr. Douillard. Does anyone know the source of the photo or the location?
Susan Schleef says
I just saw your video and then came over here to read the article. Very exciting information that supports the use of humming, which I learned years ago from my teacher, Julie Henderson, who combines her educational background in somatics with her many years of study with several Tibetan Buddhist high lamas. Humming has all kinds of positive benefits for the body. Humming is vibration and everything that is alive is in vibration!
Anne says
It would be helpful if there was a demo of the humming bee exercise.
Beth says
Dr. Douillard does a demo in the video above. ^
Felice Fenwick-Smith says
Great post!
Ujjayi breath.
Today’s post https://lifespa.com/nitric-oxide-humming-brahmari-pranayama/ says to do it so I went to https://lifespa.com/one-minute-meditation/ to see an explanation or demonstration but in the video where you demonstrate the meditation there is no demonstration of the Ujjayi breath.
Can you guide me?